PEORIA HEIGHTS — Nearly one month past a missed deadline to buy the former Cohen’s Furniture warehouse, the proposal to convert the building into apartments and retail shops has reached a critical point, developer Jeff Giebelhausen said Tuesday.

“We’re up against a final decision on whether to proceed,” Giebelhausen said. “It’s very fluid. The project could die, or it could be extended.”

By a 4-1 vote in September, the Peoria Heights Village Board approved a $7.5 million bond issue contribution to the $23 million project in the only tax-increment financing district in the village. The money, that would theoretically be recouped by the village through increased property taxes from the finished apartment complex and sales taxes from the project’s retail shops, was contingent on Giebelhausen purchasing the property by Dec. 20.

But after the board vote, plans changed considerably when the developer learned that structural issues made it impossible to fit 124 apartment units in the 127,000-square-foot brick-and-concrete warehouse building. An evolved plan called for 20 to 30 units inside the old building and 80 to 100 more in a new free-standing building on the property.

The changes were significant enough to nullify the board vote and require Giebelhausen to return with a new proposal to consider. He never did, although he did continue to have contact with village officials about the Cohen’s building. At one point, he suggested the project could move forward if the village agreed to purchase the $2.2 million building, according to Giebelhausen and village officials.

“Jeff is free to present a new package to the board, but the only rumblings we heard as of late was more of a residential feel only, with hopes of retail to follow,” wrote Allen in an email response to questions about the status of the project. “This new concept is a bit too much for us to facilitate; to buy the Cohen’s property without solid working agreements with not just residential plans, but more importantly, retail plans.”

Allen indicated the last version of the plan he’d heard included the village buying the Cohen’s property.

“(Nothing else) has surfaced,” Allen wrote. “If anything changes, the board is more than willing to listen, but we have no plans to purchase the Cohen’s property on speculation. It’s too risky, obviously, in these financial times. Our plans before have been clear to any potential TIF investor: buy the Cohen’s property first, then let’s talk. Without that piece of the puzzle in place, that’s all that it is, just talk.”

Page 2 of 2 - The warehouse was built in 1969 by the Pabst Brewing Co. and used by the beer maker until it closed. It changed hands several times before Cohen’s Furniture Co. purchased the building in 1988. It has remained mostly vacant for more than 10 years.

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at shilyard@pjstar.com. Follow @scotthilyard on Twitter.